japan and the united states have agreed to modify the status of forces agreement. the people of okinawa long pushed for the review. it is home to the most u.s. bases in japan. the minister is to explain the revision. welcome to "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. the japanese and u.s. governments are changing how they deal with crimes involving civilian employees working for the u.s. military in japan. they're reviewing the application of the status of forces agreement to allow japan to exercise jurisdiction over crcres that lead to death.

as a result, public prosecutors in okinawa decided to indict a u.s. forces civilian employee in connection with a car accident that killed a japanese man. the case involves a 24-year-old american man. prosecutors say he was on the way home from his job at a supermarket on a u.s. basin january when his car struck the victim. they could not indict the suspect because he was deemed to have been on duty at the time of the accident. the status of forces agreement gives the united states primary jurisdiction in cases involving soldiers or civilian employees on bases who cause accidents or commit crimes when they are considered to be on duty. people in okinawa repeatedly expressed anger over the agreement. the justice ministry says in five years through 2010, there were 62 cases involving japanese victims war employees weren't indicted because they were on duty. none of the cases was ever brought to a u.s. military court.

that's the because supreme court handed down ruling that it is unconstitutional to try civilian employees at military courts in noncombat situations. after the accident in january, protesters gathered in okinawa and collected some 62,000 signatures calling for review of the bilateral agreement. the governments of japan and the united states agreed to do just that. japanese foreign minister gemba is scheduled to visit okinawa, japanese's foreign minister. scheduled to visit friday and meet the governor on saturday. xwem bah plans to explain thursday's announcement. >> translator: i think the new framework means the japan/u.s. relations advanced. we must also obtain consent about relocating a u.s. base. at the same time, we will do our best to ease the burden on the people. >> a panel reviewed the

japan/u.s. status of forces agreement and decided to allow more flexibility in interpreting it. it is part of the japan government's bid to win support for the relocation of the air station in the prefecture. while in okinawa, gemba will outline a government proposal to submit an environmental assessment report on the planned relocation of the futenma station to nago city. the governmen the report to okinawa by the end of this year. protesters returned to the streets of yemen even after the calls appeared to be answered. there was an agreement for transfer of power but dmon strayers want him to resign immediately. tloes five people died in anti-government protests. armed groups of saleh supporters shot supporters in the capital sanaa. 20 other people were injured. saleh on wednesday signed an agreement to transfer power to

his vice president. diplomats brokered the deal. saleh will retain his title until a presidential election is held within the next three months. military rulers in egypt promised to hold parliamentary elections there on schedule but there's still plenty -- a lot of uncertainty. many fear more violence. >> translator: we should not focus on protests but on the elections. as that is the first step towards democracy. >> the supreme military council held a news conference on thursday. the council declared it will hold the elections on monday as planned. they vowed to make it a success in order to bring more democracy to egypt. still demonstrations against the interim government continue even after the council promised to

speed up the democratic process. 38 people have been killed over the past week in clashes between protesters and security forces. young pro-democracy activists lead the protests. they're asking everyone who supports their cause to join them on thstreets. the foympus has been on somf roer ride fothe entmaker. nhk. onhursy.

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and against the yen, the common currency moving ith lower 130 yen range, a six weeks. 103-06 yen. here's the latest tes. this is the yield on the benchmark 10-year jane government bond. eight major japanese life insurers slashed eurzo bd instntinhe last month due to the deepening crisis in europe. that means more than 40% of thhoin in government debt by five euro zone nations. the life insurers released mid termte roh uray they show that as of the end of seemr,heomni held about $9.9 billion worth of bonds issued by italy, spain, portugal, iranangrce these are the five euro zone ffesons that face fiscal

their coin hdis e .6 lln. >> translator: it will take a nserlyon te t resolve the european debt problems. thsiatn ans erda and every moment. we will respond after considering the situation. government bonds which have the highest credit rating in the eu ze. inyeah decided to open up the retail sector. the move as attract more foreign capital androte modernization of the whole retail industry. ina wseptsayhat the government made the decision at a cabinet meeting on thsd. it approved deregulation of foreign investments in to peartsnd other large retail operators. foreign firms will be aow t buy stakes of up to 51%oc

ventures but details have yet to be announced. the outstanding issues include the schedule for deregulation and the mim iesen amount. the indian government has been cautious about freeing up the reilecrs owners of small family-run zoers are expteo pose the entry of foreign retailer >>anre a recap of the latest market figures. >> and that's all for now in business.

"newsline" is the place to rno r e te ojan, post march 11th. we have two segments offering two uniqueerspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information onhe impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis, and the road ahead examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss nuclear watch and t road ahead on "newsline." the european union has released an interim report on its six-month-long stress test for all of the bloc's 143 nuclear reactors. the tests were implemented in response to the 3/11 disaster at the fukushima nuclear plant. the eu, however, gave no safety evaluations. the eu unveiled a preliminary report on thursday after compiling accounts from 14 member countries that were created based on self-assessments by plant opats. the report concludes that no nuclear plants in the eu need close immediately. but the eu makes no safety sessments as the format and

content of the national accounts vary substantially. the tests checked whether the reactors can withstand the efctof morarque, tsunami or other natural disasters, as well as survive possible accidents such as a plane crash. the pnso awp fil report by next june after a peer review by member states' nuclear regulators. china says it's willing to ease restrictions on japanese food imports. n s ac bau o radiation concerns following the fukushima disaster. the chinese government said on thursday the easing would include imports of sweets, liorndome processed foods, but approval will come with conditions. products must be processed outside fukushima, tokyo, and eight other prefectures located near t cppd an products also must carry government certificates to identify where they're from. chespriewejiaoai during his visit to japan in may that his country will no longer require certificates confirming products had been tested for

radiation. china still says vegetables, dairy goods and marine products must be shipped with rticeso ri ty e radiation-free. about 150,000 people in japan are waiting to hear one simple thing from politicians and nuclear experts. it's safe to go home. they fled towns and villages surrounding fukushima daiichi after the march 11th earthquake and tsunami crippled the power plant. the damaged reto are supposed to be in cold shut down by end of the year. there is no telling when or if evacuees can return home. this week on uclear watch," we find out how these displaced people are feeling about their future, starting with one man's story. here's osama takahashi.

>> reporter: he is going home, though he is not sure what he'll find. the japanese government arranged his only previous visit back in september. he went by bus. this time he is driving home. his house is located just 2.5 kilometers from fukushima daiichi. one can see the plant's ventilation tower from the road in front of his house. the march 11th earthquake damaged some of his furniture and a lot of other things. sato had to search through his family's photo albums. he selected photos of a few special occasions, family celebrations, school entrance ceremony. he left all the other photos behind. >> translator: spending time and living so far from home, i've realized how precious those family memories are. it's really touching.

>> reporter: sato says he wanted the take picture books for his children. he thought the books might expose them to radioactive substances. he took photos of a few pages instead. his wife and their three children were waiting for him in their apartment, their temporary home. >> translator: i know that i can't get back home in the next few years. but i hope to return someday. for my children, it is up to them to make their own decisions. >> reporter: radiation levels around sato's house were high. approximately 50 microsieverts power. it may be awhile yet before sato and his family can return to the things they left behind.

osama tahachi. >> thousands of others are facing a similar situation. they don't know when or if they'll be able to return to their homes. a new survey gives us an idea how the evacuees are feeling. earlier we spoke with a reporter to get some details. >> researchers at the university carried out the study. they found many evacuees in the early 30s are skeptical about going home. the survey asked residents whether they want to return home and if they do what's needed for that to happen. it also asked how they're living now. researchers conducted over 28,000 households in the 8 towns surrounding fukushima daiichi. those residents left their homes immediately after the nuclear accident. about half of them responded to the survey.

one question asked whether evacuees hope to return to the original home. about one in four, or 27% of respondents said they have no intention of going back. 73% said they would return home if certain conditions are met. the survey also asked respondents why they're reluctant to return home. 83% cited difficulty of decontaminateling their town or village. 66% said they don't believe the government when they think we will be safe. 61% said they don't believe the nuclear crisis will be resolved. many expressed a love for their local areas. while entering it, i am keen to return home as soon as possible because i like my neighbors and culture very much. however, others pointed out the need to improve living conditions.

fukushima university associate professor says local governments should pay attention to these comments. >> translator: the survey results show evacuees long to return home. the government needs to do something to keep their hopes alive. >> the survey revealed the unemployment rate for evacuees has doubled to 55% since the nuclear accident. the government must create jobs, repair infrastructure and improve other living conditions so people can go back to living a normal life. >> nhk world's junia yabuchi there. time to check on some of the stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin with this item sent by irib in iran. iranian lawmakers on wednesday voted to downgrade diplomatic ties with britain after the country imposed sanctions on iran's central bank. an influential lawmaker said

britain had acted vindictively and called for the british ambassador to be expelled. britain and the u.s. imposed new sanctions on iran's banking and energy sectors after the united nations nuclear agency's recent report on tehran's nuclear program. in thailand, almost 4,000 workers have lost their jobs at flood-damaged factories in the central province of iutaya. the province is home to the country's largest industrial estate rojana industrial park. a senior provincial official said on thursday that so far 14 firms have laid off workers. he added they are paying about $3 million in unemployment compensation. meanwhile, tha using 300 pumps to drain the floodwaters from the park in about 2 weeks. there are about 200 factories in the park, including those of japan's giant automakers. the 42nd international film festival of india opened in the western state of goa on wednesday.

information and broadcasting minister and a noted film star kahn inaugurated the ten-day event. the minister conferred the lifetime achievement award on a french filmmaker. soon after the ceremony, a portuguese film, the council of bordeaux was screened. this year's event features 3d and animated films among others showcasing the country's diverse culture. india leads the world in number of films made each year. thursday was warm in tokyo. however, it's chilly friday morning. let's take a look at the global weather forecast. >> hello, welcomto your weather update. let's take a look at what's happening across east asia. japan is looking at typical wintry weather while the pacific side is looking at very nice and sunny weather.

the other side has wet and windy conditions. this area is dealing with blowing snow since yesterday. but we are anticipating additional 40 centimeters of snowfall by saturday morning. and for this region, thunderstorms are developing and winds are very strong so that is causing high waves along the western coast. as high pressure system pushes on to japan, things will be clearing up by saturday. meanwhile, the korean peninsula and much of china are experiencing very nice conditions but a system will develop by the korean peninsula and bring a mix of rain and snow to the northern end of the peninsula as well as northeastern china on saturday. down towards the south it's mostly wet across the philippines. you may see scattered thunderstorms throughout the day. out west, vietnam and the malay peninsula looking at ongoing rain.

risk of landslides are dangerously high here. 14 degrees in tokyo and 8 in seoul but warming up to 22 in chongqing. heading over to europe, we can see a large and powerful low pressure system through the north of the british isles. lines are close together meaning the winds are blowing over much of the scandinavian peninsula. in terms of precipitation, blustery, showers are impacting across most of northern europe. those extremely windy and wet conditions will likely continue throughout friday. and we can see wide-spread showers developing over finland, by tonight. but it's a different story for most of continental europe. it stays dry and settled thanks to our high pressure system and the exception is southern parts of italy as well as spain that are under heavy thundershowers. the ground is already very well

saturated and so we are concerned of additional risk of flooding and mud slides. expecting 19 degrees in lisbon and 15 in may drid. very cold in vienna with 1 and 4 degrees in warsaw. now we'll end with wintry scenes in belgium. artists are very busy putting finishing touches on ice sculptures for the annual ice festival. this year the works features disney characters to celebrate the 20th anniversary of disneyland paris. highs are remaining in the low teens outside but much, much colder inside the exhibition tents to keep the ice are melting. right. that's it from me now and here's your extended forecast.

our lead story this hour, protesters returned to the streets of yes, ma'am eneven after the calls appear to have been answered. president saleh agreed to transfer power but demonstrators want him to resign immediately. at least five people died in anti-government protests. armed groups of saleh supporters shot demonstrators in the capital sanaa. he signed an agreement on wednesday to transfer power to his vice president. diplomats from neighboring gulf nations brokered the deal. he will retain his title until an election is held in three months. but protesters aren't satisfied. they say the agreement is a ploy that helps a criminal who oppressed his people. and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobiyashi in tokyo. do stay with us. we'll be back with more of your updates at the top of the next hour.

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